100 Business Tips to Drive Disabled Consumer Loyalty

Drive Disabled Customer Loyalty By Serving Their Needs

With sales projections showing that 70% of all sales will be conducted online, disabled consumer loyalty is more important than ever before. The senior 50+ and disabled market segments have tremendous spending power. People don’t leave their homes just to buy a product. They go to businesses to enjoy the experience.

At the beginning of the 21st century, those aged 65 or over made up five per cent of the population, in 20 years’ time, this proportion will rise to around 18 million, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Across the globe the number of those aged over 60 will nearly triple by 2050, rising to 2.4 billion, up from 894 million in 2010.

Even though the ADA, Americans With Disabilities Act as the law for all business facilities, there are many other little things that can be done to increase the customer experience. Happy customers tell their friends. Unhappy customers post negative on-line reviews and don’t return.

As business people, we all know that it is harder to get a new customer off the street than it is to make your customer a repeat customer. A disability-friendly business is a profitable business!

If a senior or disabled customer feels welcome, they will stay longer, spend more, and are more likely to become a repeat customer.

Do you know that less than 5% of disabled consumers use a wheel on a regular basis?

You cannot always tell just by looking at a person if they have a disability.

See www.RollingRains.com for Wheelchair travel tips.

Customers with limited mobility, heart conditions, lung conditions and other medical conditions appreciate the use of a motorized shopping cart.

A comfortable shopping experience increases the time spent in your store and ultimately increases total sales.

Do you know that the combination of bad in-store customer service experiences and the ease of accessible websites for on-line shopping, an increasing number of senior and disabled consumers are spending their money from home?

People enjoy a friendly retail experience. Shopping is not about products. It’s about finding a solution and feeling good. A disability friendly retail business will gain market share.

Customer Service Tips for Disabled and Senior Customers

WELCOME ALL GUESTS

Speak directly to each customer and make eye contact.

You rarely know who is living with a disability just by looking at them. Many disabilities are invisible.

Only 5% of the disabled population use a wheelchair on a regular basis.

If a guest walks in and then uses the electronic cart, don’t judge them. Heart conditions and many other conditions cause fatigue.

A comfortable customer will shop longer and spend more.

Disabled Consumers love to shop locally.

Don’t per-judge.

Not every disability is visible, nor is every disability as severe as it might appear.

It’s OK to ask “Is there anything we can do to make your shopping more convenient?”

Offer specialized help to any customer who asks.

No matter how minor the request, make sure your employees are aware that some requests are unusual.

Wheelchair photo courtesy of www.rollingrains.com travel blog.

If a disabled customer makes an unusual request, as long as the request is safe for everyone, politely fulfill it.

Always ask first before automatically helping a disabled customer.

Strive for positive feedback from your disabled customers.

Staff should be alert and helpful to all customers.

Train staff to understand the importance of treating all customers with the same amount of respect and courtesy.

If a member of staff knows sign language, let the rest of the staff know.

Trainemployees to speak directly to a hearing-impaired person, not to their companion. They should speak clearly, not loudly.

Train employees to speak directly to any disabled customer, not to their companion.

It is illegal to question the disabled customer on the type of service dog.

It is illegal to request seeing the service dog certification.

You may only ask if the dog is a service dog and what service the dog performs.

If a disabled consumer has a service dog with them, they need the dog.

The only animals covered in ADA Law for Places of Accommodation are dogs and miniature horses. There are other guidelines for housing. (Fair Housing Act.)

Many toy breed dogs are used as seizure and PTSD dogs. You can’t judge a service dog by its breed.

Don’t judge. Remember there are many hidden disabilities.

As a business, you have the right to expect the service dog handler to control their service dogs behavior.

SAFETY FOR DISABLED CUSTOMERS

Install flashing smoke and fire alarms to alert a deaf customer of emergency.

Photo courtesy of www.rollingraines.com wheelchair travel advocate.

Train staff to quickly and safely evacuate all people from the building.

Do not block or lock exits.

Have a safety and evacuation plan.

Have an ADA Inspection of your business and correct all areas for ADA compliance.

STORE ACCESS FOR DISABLED CONSUMERS

Is the entrance to the business accessible to persons with mobility limitations?

The landscape architects at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates worked with sculptor Martin Puryear to design this courtyard at the New School University. The courtyard includes a spiral ramp that provides wheelchair access to the terrace. Courtesy Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.

Install an automatic door button or a door with sensors.

Many doors are too heavy for consumers with limited hand strength.

Always be ready to open the door and welcome a customer.

Is the entry to the building on an even hard surface and without steps?

Install a lift or ramp.

Is the entry clean and free of clutter and debris?

If the accessible entrance is not immediately apparent, are there directional signs?

Are there handicapped parking signs and spaces with necessary access space for vans with lifts?

Post a notice on the front door that assistance will be provided for customers with disabilities.

Avoid thick rubber mats or carpeting which may prove to be a trip hazard.

In cases where mats are required, tapered edges will make using a walker or cane safer. In addition, black-and-yellow CAUTION tape may be applied at the edges for higher visibility.

If removal of a barrier is not “readily achievable,” are the goods, services, etc. made available through alternative methods? Use high-contrast colored flooring in traffic areas, such as aisle.

Provide large changing rooms with seats and appropriate level clothes hooks for wheelchair access in clothing departments. Many changing rooms do not meet ADA Code.

Checkered tiles or patterns can help a person with visual impairments find their way through a dark or complex store.

Use different color walls or patterned flooring to delineate different departments.

Different textures of carpet and flooring for help with direction and wayfinding.

Disabled Consumers love to shop locally.

Add a note on your Facebook or Website welcoming “Customers with disabilities – contact us if you need any special assistance.

Make the company’s Website user-friendly to visitors with disabilities.

Disability-friendly businesses understand the tremendous spending power of this consumer segment and do everything in their power to welcome disabled customers to their business. This list is just a beginning. Consider getting a detailed ADA Inspection and Accessibility Survey with a detail report. Always remember that if you treat the disabled community well, you will have customers for life.

Disability Smart Solutions is committed to working with organizations and companies who believe in diversity and social inclusion. We are an ADA Accessibility consulting company providing resources to businesses that serve the unique needs of both the 50+ aging population and people living with disabilities.

While parenting a special needs teenager and caring for an elderly parent, she learned the harsh realities of all-ability customer service and architectural barriers to access.

Susan knows that it's one thing to explore a building as an able young person, but it's another to shop, dine, visit the doctor, or vacation as a person living with a disability. Mobility, comprehension, perception, hearing and sight can change in a split second.

Susan believes that exemplary customer service and ease-of-use in Places of Accommodation are key to creating long-term productive employees and life-long happy customers.

His photos star in our "Spot the Service Dog" presentation, where we explain the differences between Services Dogs and Emotional Support Animals.

Serge wants everyone to know that for Places of Public Accommodation:
1. A service dog vest is like a Rock Star t-shirt. It is just informational clothing.
2. The Department of Justice and the ADA do not acknowledge any "Service Dog Certificates."

The ADA only allows two legal questions for businesses.
1. Is the dog or tiny horse a service animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the dog or tiny horse been trained to perform?

A business may ask any animal, including a Service Dog, to leave their facility for bad behavior.

Call Susan to schedule a Service Dog seminar for your organization. 407-310-3663

What is the ADA?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities that are like those provided to individuals on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion.

The ADA guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, State and local government services and telecommunications.

Susan P. Berry, NCIDQ, National Council for Interior Design Qualification

National Council of Building Design Certification, Susan P. Berry, CPBD

Disability Smart Solutions is an ADA Consultancy and a service of Susan Berry Design, Inc.
DSS does not practice Law, Architecture, Commercial Interior Design or Engineering.
DSS recommends always using a State Licensed professional for Construction Documents.
DSS recommends always reviewing Disability Discrimination with an Attorney.
Fees and Prices quoted on website are samples and subject to change at any time.
The comments and observations provided within documents provided by Susan Berry Design, Inc. and/or Disability Smart Solutions (SBD/DSS), are for general information & compliance purposes only. SBD/DSS are not licensed attorneys or architects in the State of Florida. We do not claim to be agents, representatives, or licensees of the DOJ (Department of Justice), ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) or any other state or government agency. Any information provided is not intended as professional legal advice, nor does it supersede government authority. Susan Berry Design, Inc., Disability Smart Solutions and/or their assignee's, do not assume any liability for information.

Disclaimer:
ADA Consulting and ADA Inspectors are non-regulated professions.
The International Code Council provides a Certified Accessibility Inspector and Plans Examiner program. Disability Smart Solutions has this certification.
The Department of Justice does not certify or endorse any individual or organization as ADA consultants, nor does the DOJ approve or endorse any products or designs as being in compliance with the ADA.
We DO NOT provide Certificates of ADA Compliance, as we have never been in a facility that maintained 100% ADA compliance.